APG Workstream Overview

The American Pharmaceutical Group (APG) set up a special Workstream to focus on access to medicine in the developing world. The APG believes that basic healthcare should be independent of where people live. About two billion people, a third of the world's population, do not have access to essential healthcare services and medicine; many of them live in low income countries.

In addition to researching and manufacturing new medicines, APG member companies are committed to enhancing access to medicines in Africa and other developing countries through a variety of measures.

These are set out in this brochure, alongside selected case-studies of work in countries outside of Africa, and they improve and extend the lives of millions of the world's most disadvantaged people.

The APG has welcomed the opportunity to be involved in the development of government policy on a range of issues, such as Advanced Market Commitments for new vaccines in developing countries; Global Health Partnerships with Lord Crisp; the UK's strategy for tackling AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world; the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) and the update of the Government's paper "Increasing people's access to essential medicines in developing countries: a framework for good practice in the pharmaceutical industry".

The APG and the Wellcome Trust held an Opinion Formers’ conference on counterfeits medicines in October 2009.Further information, including the report, press release and presentations, are available